General Blue Jays Discussion Thread (2024)

[Jonn]

I was looking at some of the Jays lineup concepts people were posting on X today and f*** even with the Turner signing 5-9 looks f***ing gross.

 

RF Springer

SS Bo

1B Vlad

DH Turner

 

C Jansen/Kirk

LF Varsho

2B Biggio/Espinal/Scheneider

3B IKF

CF Kiermaier

 

Factor in injuries and I’m not very optimistic this team scores runs this Season.

 

Team is 2 bats away from being a serious contender. And they can’t expect the pitching to stay as healthy. At the very minimum they should be looking for a platoon for Kiermaier and Varsho depending on the matchup. 2B, 3B, LF, and CF could all be offensive black holes.

Edited February 1, 2024 by Jonn

[G-Snarls]

 

Reading between the lines

 

They couldn't get anything they wanted in return for him and they're giving him a chance to make the rotation out of spring training

[Terminator]

I was looking ar some of the Jays lineup concepts people were posting on X tofay and f*** even with the Turner signing 5-9 looks f***ing gross.

 

RF Springer

SS Bo

1B Vlad

DH Turner

 

C Jansen/Kirk

LF Varsho

2B Biggio/Espinal/Scheneider

3B IKF

CF Kiermaier

 

Factor in injuries and I’m not very optimistic this team scores runs this Season

 

Team is 2 bats away from beinh a serious contender. And they can’t expect the pitching to stay as healthy. At the very minimum they should be looking for a platoon for Kiermaier and Varsho depending on the matchup. 2B, 3B, LF, and CF could all be offensive black holes.

 

5-9 isn't that bad. Steamer (aka the Bible) projects the following:

 

5. Jansen (110 wRC+)/Kirk (122)

6. Varsho (106)

7. Schneider (113)/Biggio (99)/Espinal (98)

8. IKF (89)

9. KK (91)

 

I'll give you that 8 and 9 are subpar but they both bring elite defense to the table. Then you have Vlad (145), Bo (124), Springer (116) and Turner (105) which should make for a pretty formidable top of the lineup.

[wamco]

I was looking ar some of the Jays lineup concepts people were posting on X tofay and f*** even with the Turner signing 5-9 looks f***ing gross.

 

RF Springer

SS Bo

1B Vlad

DH Turner

 

C Jansen/Kirk

LF Varsho

2B Biggio/Espinal/Scheneider

3B IKF

CF Kiermaier

 

Factor in injuries and I’m not very optimistic this team scores runs this Season

 

Team is 2 bats away from beinh a serious contender. And they can’t expect the pitching to stay as healthy. At the very minimum they should be looking for a platoon for Kiermaier and Varsho depending on the matchup. 2B, 3B, LF, and CF could all be offensive black holes.

 

Varsho actually had a 102 rc+ vs lefties last year. 98 for kk.

But ya if you can get a lefty masher, it’s worth it

[Spanky99]

 

Reading between the lines

 

They couldn't get anything they wanted in return for him and they're giving him a chance to make the rotation out of spring training

 

lol... pretty much.

[Laika]

Imagine characterizing a catching combo of Kirk and Jansen as "gross" on offense.

 

LMAO

[Laika]

I have been a big supporter of Alek Manoah all offseason so I am very happy to hear that Toronto had no real plans of selling low on him

 

Look for him to be a strong SP3 this year for a good Blue Jays team

[BigCecil]

I was looking ar some of the Jays lineup concepts people were posting on X tofay and f*** even with the Turner signing 5-9 looks f***ing gross.

 

He has always had a great approach, but banking on a 39 yr old achieving last yrs 114 wRC+ is risky in and of itself. I think we will be lucky to see projected 105.

[Terminator]

He has always had a great approach, but banking on a 39 yr old achieving last yrs 114 wRC+ is risky in and of itself. I think we will be lucky to see projected 105.

 

Yeah I'm a little worried about Turner as well.

 

He's old and sucked against fastballs last year for the first time in his career.

 

That said, he's been remarkably consistent over the years. He just simply doesn't have off years. So if he still has talent, it's a good bet to translate into his performance onfield.

 

Compare that to other options and Soler has been remarkably inconsistent while JDM projects very similarly to Turner and also has age-related concerns.

[glory]

IKF at 3B is gross, and I expect Kiermaier to regress to below average offensively. Other than that, there's a lot of volatility in the lineup. Could be good, could be average, or if Vlad/Springer/Kirk/Varsho don't bounce back, then it could get ugly. I think the team is hoping for not only bounce backs/regression, but also hoping that depth can help compensate over 162.

 

The fact that the Jays decided to go with an injury prone KK, 40 year old Turner, and backup in IKF definitely leaves the door open for prospects in the minors, both short and long term. The development of the position players projected to start in AAA (Horowitz, Orelvis, Barger, Palmegiani, Jimenez, maybe Roden) will be crucial this season.

[Terminator]

IKF at 3B is gross, and I expect Kiermaier to regress to below average offensively. Other than that, there's a lot of volatility in the lineup. Could be good, could be average, or if Vlad/Springer/Kirk/Varsho don't bounce back, then it could get ugly. I think the team is hoping for not only bounce backs/regression, but also hoping that depth can help compensate over 162.

 

The fact that the Jays decided to go with an injury prone KK, 40 year old Turner, and backup in IKF definitely leaves the door open for prospects in the minors, both short and long term. The development of the position players projected to start in AAA (Horowitz, Orelvis, Barger, Palmegiani, Jimenez, maybe Roden) will be crucial this season.

 

IKF is kind of gross at 3B. BUT I would describe him more as a "primary 3B" rather than a starting 3B.

 

If you look at Fangraph's Depth Charts, you'll see 8 players contributing to 700 PAs at 3B and they combine for 2.1 WAR. That's not great but if you compare it to other contenders, they mostly all have at least one positions like that. Some of them have an even worse black hole and some of them have multiple subpar positions (we only have one).

[Spanky99]

Imagine characterizing a catching combo of Kirk and Jansen as "gross" on offense.

 

LMAO

 

Terrible man, I think MLBN Shredder Top 10 Right Now, had El Capitan at 6 and Jansen was just outside the top 10.

[wamco]

Terrible man, I think MLBN Shredder Top 10 Right Now, had El Capitan at 6 and Jansen was just outside the top 10.

 

What happened to mlb now show w Kenney? No eps since New Years except a week during hof induction.

 

 

 

2 of the X factors on this team is Schneider and manoah

 

Anyone willing to put up their predictions for them as of now? Spring training may give a bit more peek into manoah

[Spanky99]

What happened to mlb now show w Kenney? No eps since New Years except a week during hof induction.

 

 

 

2 of the X factors on this team is Schneider and manoah

 

Anyone willing to put up their predictions for them as of now? Spring training may give a bit more peek into manoah

 

Predictions would likely range around their projections, simple. As for MLB Now it's sporadic because of the offseason. Brian Kenny is hosting the Top 10 every night for the Network.

 

Like they did RF last night, Springer came in at 7.

[G-Snarls]

I have been a big supporter of Alek Manoah all offseason so I am very happy to hear that Toronto had no real plans of selling low on him

 

Look for him to be a strong SP3 this year for a good Blue Jays team

 

That would be fantastic man

[wamco]

Predictions would likely range around their projections, simple. As for MLB Now it's sporadic because of the offseason. Brian Kenny is hosting the Top 10 every night for the Network.

 

Like they did RF last night, Springer came in at 7.

 

Kenny is the man. His top ten 1bman not in hall had Delgado at 7. Costas had him at 7 as well

 

If I was told tomorrow that the HOF changed their mind and they are letting Delgado, Will Clark and berkman in, I wouldn’t be outraged.

[wamco]

Predictions would likely range around their projections, simple. As for MLB Now it's sporadic because of the offseason. Brian Kenny is hosting the Top 10 every night for the Network.

 

Like they did RF last night, Springer came in at 7.

 

 

Projections vary. So what are yours?

[Spanky99]

That would be fantastic man

 

He's joking G, lol.

[Jays24]

Manoah will bounce back just like Berrios did last year. He might not be an ace but he should be a solid SP3 or so. He shouldn't have as many haters as he does, especially from Blue Jays fans.

[Spanky99]

Projections vary. So what are yours?

 

Well, considering the offseason so far, the Jays are projecting to hope 4 players project to their mean. The variance of those numbers are what happens to be what I believe. 3 wins either way as a team as a whole. I'd imagine to the guesstimation.

[Jays24]

Well, considering the offseason so far, the Jays are projecting to hope 4 players project to their mean. The variance of those numbers are what happens to be what I believe. 3 wins either way as a team as a whole. I'd imagine to the guesstimation.

 

Dear God... you sound like Trudeau. Just answer the damn question man loll

[wamco]

Smh so the variance is your prediction . Weak sauce.

 

Moving on to people who will actually put number in their response

[Laika]

What happened to mlb now show w Kenney? No eps since New Years except a week during hof induction.

 

 

 

2 of the X factors on this team is Schneider and manoah

 

Anyone willing to put up their predictions for them as of now? Spring training may give a bit more peek into manoah

 

Schneider has a feast or famine season but ends up hitting enough homers and playing good enough defense for 3 WAR. Pundits start to place Dan Uggla comps on him. He's the locked in starting 2B for most of the year.

 

Alek Manoah is pretty awful again but not as wild as 2023 so he eats enough innings to be worth 1.3 WAR

[wamco]

Well thought out. Appreciated . So 4.3 combined. I think we take that

[Stangstag]

Predictions would likely range around their projections, simple. As for MLB Now it's sporadic because of the offseason. Brian Kenny is hosting the Top 10 every night for the Network.

 

Like they did RF last night, Springer came in at 7.

 

That’s encouraging, if you did a poll around here I think most would say Springer is washed and an albatross.

 

I still think he’s got a couple years left in the tank. Just had a down year last year like most if the lineup.

[Jonn]

Imagine characterizing a catching combo of Kirk and Jansen as "gross" on offense.

 

LMAO

 

Kirk was horrendous at the plate last Season and Jansen is made of glass. And yet that’s your likely 5 hole slot that could go to s*** quickly with injury and under performance.

[max silver]

Kirk was horrendous at the plate last Season and Jansen is made of glass. And yet that’s your likely 5 hole slot that could go to s*** quickly with injury and under performance.

 

Kirk has had one poor offensive season in his entire career but of course you are going to completely overreact like usual and call the Jansen/Kirk combination gross. Never mind the fact they are projected for over 4 wins combined.

[Jonn]

Kirk has had one poor offensive season in his entire career but of course you are going to completely overreact like usual and call the Jansen/Kirk combination gross. Never mind the fact they are projected for over 4 wins combined.

 

It’s not an overreaction to be concerned about the lineup. I didn’t call the combo of them gross. I called the 5-9 has the potential to be gross if under performance continues and injuries happen. I like Danny Jansen. He can’t stay healthy. Kirk is not someone I feel should be hitting 5th for a team with aspirations to win a World Series.

 

It Kirk/Janeen was 7/8 would be feeling much better. Not a difficult concept to understand.

Edited February 1, 2024 by Jonn

[Eat My Shatkins]

It’s not an overreaction to be concerned about the lineup. I didn’t call the combo of them gross. I called the 5-9 has the potential to be gross if under performance continues and injuries happen. I like Danny Jansen. He can’t stay healthy. Kirk is not someone I feel should be hitting 5th for aspirations to win a World Series.

 

It Kirk/Janeen was 7/8 would be feeling much better. Not a difficult concept to understand.

 

Is it an overreaction to say multiple times that the Jays should fire a 2+ fWAR player into the sun?

[max silver]

Is it an overreaction to say multiple times that the Jays should fire a 2+ fWAR player into the sun?

 

And they should trade a relatively inexpensive reliever who's only scheduled to make $6 million despite providing a full win above replacement. On top of that there was constant grousing that this incredibly reasonable vesting option was going to kick in and that the team should dump this player to avoid paying him that below market salary for 2024.